


Immanuel's Veins

by ItalianRampallian (Anglo_Salad)



Series: Cry With The Saints [1]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien speaks semi-fluent Latin, Aged-Up Character(s), Alcohol, Angst, Because of course he does, Catholic Guilt, Catholic!Agrestes, Chloe is the only sensible person in this fic, Demisexual Nino Lahiffe, Depressed Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir, F/M, Gabriel dropped out of seminary school?, Gen, Mari can't hold her wine, Multi, OH BY THE WAY THEY'RE AGED UP, Songfic, Sort Of, Spanish Lahiffes, Suicidal Thoughts, Suicide Attempt, and she's arguably a narcissist, ask me about my headcanons, dead adrien, dios mio ayudame, for anyone counting that makes Nino trilingual in this fic, why not?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-15
Updated: 2019-01-08
Packaged: 2019-09-18 13:35:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 8
Words: 5,479
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16995990
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anglo_Salad/pseuds/ItalianRampallian
Summary: Life after the Death of Adrien Agreste.





	1. Took My Friend Away

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Maidezmaidez](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Maidezmaidez/gifts).



> Recommended Music for this chapter: There Is a Fountain Full of Blood/It Don't Make Sense - Parade Cast

It was a sunny day in August, as August days often are in Paris, when Gabriel Agreste said goodbye to his only son.

It was a simple affair, to the surprise of many. Though the family had enough money to do as they pleased in life, Gabriel saw no point in extravagance after death.

That was what Adrien was, after all. The simplest of all the things he had turned out to be that Gabriel had never expected.

Adrien Agreste was dead. 

-

The funeral being closed to the public didn’t stop reporters and fans from gathering at the gates of the cemetery, much to Marinette’s chagrin. Their shouted questions and muffled sobs were disgusting, she thought, staring at one of the girls in the crowd. Mascara and snot were running down the stranger’s face, her overdramatized grief identical to dozens around her.

As if they knew Adrien. As if they knew the sunshine he brought with him when he entered a room, or the goofy way he grinned when someone laughed at his jokes. No, all these girls knew was the model persona and the muted, professional smile that came with the job.

A hand on her arm jolted her from her thoughts, and she turned her head to see that Alya had come up beside her. She offered Marinette a shaky smile and tilted her head toward the coffin, a silent signal to pay attention.

She tried, but the priest was rambling on in Latin, and she knew absolutely none of what he was saying, and why did the Agrestes have to be  _ Catholic  _ of all things, why did she never know that about Adrien, why did she never know-

She refocused herself with a sharp intake of breath, watching as the coffin was lowered into the ground. It was empty, she knew, purely symbolic, but there was the same air of finality as it sank out of view.

Gabriel was the first to throw his handful of dirt into the grave. Next came his assistant, Natalie, and Marinette was stricken by how much more shaken this woman looked than Adrien’s own father.

Stricken, but not surprised.

-

‘ **Parisian Crime-Fighting Duo Mysteriously Vanished** ,’ the television read. Marinette didn’t even have to check the Ladyblog to hear the question anymore. Everyone wanted to know: Where were Ladybug and Chat Noir?

_ “Since the akuma attack on July the 30th,”  _ The reporter began,  _  “Paris has noticed the absences of its’ beloved superheroes, Ladybug and Chat Noir. While there have been no attacks since that date, the lack of superhero sightings is disconcerting to many. Previously, the heroes were known to do regular patrols of the city, as well as making formal public appearances.” _

Marinette leaned back and closed her eyes, listening to the reporter’s voice as he droned on about her alter ego’s past achievements. She should go to bed, she knew, but the couch was comfortable and she didn’t really want to sleep, anyway. 

‘It’s still the middle of the day, I can sleep later,’ she told herself.

It was mere moments before exhaustion swept her away.

-

_ It’s raining. It’s raining and someone is laughing. _

_ She turns, and there is Hawkmoth, and the akuma, and on the edge of the building is Chat, and- _

_ Not Chat. In his place stands Adrien Agreste, face red and eyes glistening. He is the source of the laughter, but it clearly isn’t joy that motivates him. _

_ He grins a madness-laced grin at Hawkmoth, and the man in the purple suit almost looks sad. _

_ “So this is it, huh? This is what you do when you’re not around? Try to steal jewelry from teenagers and make monsters out of emotions?” He scoffs, shakes his head. “This is what was more important than being my father?” _

_ She stands frozen, watching as Hawkmoth- Gabriel Agreste, of all people- steps forward, reaches out a hand, and- _

_ “No.” _

_ Adrien takes a step back. _

_ Marinette isn’t sure who screams first. _


	2. The Plans They Made

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Recommended Listening: Fire and Rain, James Taylor

Marinette opened her eyes with a gasp and a violent jerk, shaking her father’s hands from her shoulders.

“Marinette? You were screaming.” Tom Dupain’s brow was furrowed, his eyes betraying serious concern. He dropped his hands to his sides, looking almost defeated. “Another nightmare?”

Marinette sighed. She wished she could explain everything to her parents, but it was too dangerous. The night terrors had started shortly after Adrien had died, and she was well aware that her parents were not oblivious to that fact. Nonetheless, she remained silent as to the content of her nightmares.

“Yes, Dad, just another bad dream,” she looked around, “Where’s Mom?”

“Your mother went to take a box of pastries to Gabriel Agre-” Marinette was up in a flash, eyes wild.

“She went where? She’ll be akumatized!”

“Sweetie,” Tom began gently, almost sadly, “I know you’re anxious lately, and I’m sure the absence of Ladybug and your friend Chat has probably made it worse, but there haven’t been any akuma attacks in the past week. Now, Gabriel just lost his son, the least we can do is show the man we’re thinking of him.”

Marinette went to argue, then stopped herself. Her father was technically correct, after all, and she couldn’t go around accusing Gabriel Agreste of being Hawkmoth.

“You’re right, I’m just scared.”

-

Chloe hadn’t slept in days. She had tried, yes, stared at the ceiling for hours each night, but the guilt kept her awake. She could hear her father in the silence of the night, the words echoing through her mind.

_ “Adrien has passed away. Gabriel isn’t releasing a cause of death.” _

Chloe was no idiot. She had known for a long time about Adrien’s depression, she knew what it meant when a celebrity’s cause of death wasn’t released. 

She had thought he was doing better, though.

Beside her, Sabrina said something, and Chloe shook herself out of her thoughts.

“What?”

“I said, Marinette must be really torn up, she’s crying.”

A quick glance upward revealed that to be true, the dark-haired girl curled in on herself against a wall, Alya rubbing circles on her back.

Chloe had seen things like this all week, of course. Pathetic little fangirls crying over the loss of their celebrity crush. She had thought Mari-trash might have been better than that, but she had apparently been wrong.

Chloe was too absorbed in her own thoughts to realize what was happening after that.

A step in Marinette’s direction.

_ “I’m so tired of these people who don’t know me claiming they love me, Chloe.” _

Marinette stood up, looked around dully.

_ Chloe took the concealer brush to Adrien’s wrist, blending it out until the scars were invisible. _

More steps, hurried.

_ “I’m doing better, Chloe, I swear.” He smiled, eyes shining- _

Impact. Chloe’s palm flat against Marinette’s cheek with a level of force she had only felt capable of as Queen Bee.

She was surprised that Marinette managed to stay on her feet, the girl honestly looked like the wind would knock her over. She was more surprised when blue eyes looked helplessly into hers, not a trace of anger or shock to be seen.

“Chloe…”

“No, Marinette, fuck you. Fuck you and every other fangirl out there who thinks they loved him. You didn’t know him!”  
Marinette’s face was stony, but her eyes betrayed pain.

“Neither did you.”

-

**Ladybug Returns- Without Chat Noir**

_ A quiet September afternoon in Paris was interrupted yesterday by a pair of akuma on a rampage. After a month of peace, Paris was once again thrown into turmoil, this time by the twin terrors of Destruct and Destroy, civilian names: Marcel and Margaret Durand.  _

_ Armed with video game controllers that allowed them to take control of civilians, the twins began multiple brawls throughout the city, with their victims temporarily gaining exceptional strength and martial arts skill, as if they were characters in a video game.  _

_ Soon after a fight between Mayor André Bourgeois and Officer Roger Raincomprix, Ladybug was seen swinging toward the action. A scan of the nearby rooftops, however, showed Chat Noir nowhere to be found. _

_ After a failed attempt at retrieving the akumatized items by the solo Ladybug, Rena Rouge and Carapace joined the fray. The fact that Ladybug had enlisted their help came as a surprise to many, considering the previous incidence of Rena Rage and ShellShock. _

_ The reserve heroes quickly proved their worth, warding off Destruct and Destroy’s fighters long enough for Ladybug to retrieve the controllers. _

_ With her signature ‘bye bye little butterfly,” Ladybug removed the akuma and restored the city to its’ usual state. _

_ In the aftermath, this reporter has two pertinent questions: Has Chat Noir left for good? And, in his absence, will Ladybug pick a new partner? _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Akuma are hard to invent. That is all.


	3. Pull Out My Tongue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Organs- of Monsters and Men

In retrospect, Gabriel should have known something was wrong with his son.

He should’ve noticed Adrien vanishing any time an akuma attacked, or the ring he always wore that neither Gabriel or Nathalie had given him.

He hadn’t, though, and now his son was gone, body lost to the Seine.

Emilie would have noticed.

When Adrien was young, modeling the clothing line Gabriel had designed for children beginning their schooling, it was Emilie who knew how to make him focus on the camera and not the various birds flying near the shoot.

Every time Adrien ran away, it was Emilie who found him.

After Emilie was hurt and Adrien thought her vanished, everything fell apart.

-

_ It was a night that started like any other, Gabriel supposed. Dinner had been placed on the table and Nathalie had been sent to retrieve Adrien from his room. (As Emilie’s best friend and Adrien’s long-time au pair, Gabriel’s new personal assistant had a good enough relationship with Adrien to coax him out of his room. As of late, she was the only one who could do so.) _

_ Gabriel nearly threw himself from his chair in surprise when he heard the always-composed woman let out an inhuman wail from across the mansion. _

_ He was in Adrien’s room within the minute, finding his way to the boy’s en suite bathroom, where Nathalie was kneeling, shrieking in between shaky gasps. _

_ Beside the phone she had dropped to the floor was Adrien, unconscious and- _

_ Gabriel saw red, too much red. _

_ He picked up the phone, thumbs fumbling as he dialed for emergency services, voice shaking as he explained the situation to the woman on the phone. _

_ Police arrived within three minutes. Gabriel found himself standing in a hospital hallway within fifteen. _

_ Nathalie would be fine, the doctors told him. She had had a severe panic attack, yes, but some intravenous lorazepam had calmed her, and she was now sleeping. She’d feel a little hungover tomorrow, the nurse said, but some electrolyte drinks and aspirin would help.  _

_ Adrien was alive. Adrien would be okay. Adrien would have scars, yes, and he’d have to go to therapy for a long time after this, but he would live. _

_ It was then that Gabriel decided things needed to change.  _

_ Adrien needed more friends. _

_ Adrien needed a full schedule. _

_ Adrien needed a mother. _

_ - _

Pollen was exceptionally patient, she thought, even for a kwami. (Kwamis were patient by nature, excluding dear old Plagg. Several millennia without a way to interact with regular creatures had forced them to be so.)

Even so, Pollen was ready to lose it. Master Fu had entrusted her with care of Plagg since his return, and her patience was beginning to wear thin.

She could handle sarcasm. She could handle snide comments. What she never expected, however, was grief.

“Plagg,” she began, “I know that you’re upset. But Fu brought you camembert four days ago, and you still haven’t eaten it. It smells, and if you leave it any longer it’ll grow black mold.’

“How can I eat, Pol? The kid’s gone.” The catlike kwami lay on his back, floating barely an inch above the table. “A- he’s gone, and Nooroo is with his stupid father, and his Ladybug-”

“Fu sent Wayzz and Trixx to their wielders to help Tikki, the Ladybug will be fine.” Pollen looked him in the eye, trying her best to be comforting. “At least we know where Nooroo is-”

“At what cost? Yeah, we know where he is, but we’re no closer to retrieving his miraculous, and a child is dead!”

“You’ve lost wielders before, Plagg, we all have.”

“Yes, I have, but never this young! And-” Plagg shivered, “-and it’s never been my fault before.”

“It’s not your-”

“Then whose? For so long, I had years to train my wielders in their powers before they ever saw real combat. The one time it matters, and I haven’t taught him everything yet, and he falls into the river!”

Pollen was silent.

Plagg was shaking.

Pollen dropped the camembert into the trash on her way out of the room.

-

Queen Bee found Ladybug on top of the Eiffel Tower at twilight, right on schedule.

The heroine of Paris looked exhausted as she surveyed the city.

“Alright, Ladybug, what’s going on? I saw you with the last akuma- the weirdo with the fedora? You almost let him get you with his chains of social obligation. If it weren’t for Rena Rouge and Carapace, he would still be out there.”

“His name was Fedooma, and I’m fine.”

“I can see your eye bags through your mask! God, you look as pathetic as-”

A pause.

“No fucking way.”

Ladybug winced. “Chloe…”

“Marinette? But then… Oh, don’t tell me.” Her rage began climbing, and she took a deep breath. “You didn’t even know him, you know that, right?”

Ladybug glared at her. “I knew him better than you.”

“Right. Tell me again how you practiced breathing exercises with him when he started having panic attacks. Wait, that was me! What have you done for him?”  
Ladybug sat down, curled in on herself. 

“We were partners,” she whimpered, “We helped each other.”

“Partners? Chat Noir?”  
There was silence, save for the sound of sobs, then a shuffling as Queen Bee sat beside her friend.

“Tell me he died fighting.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aka Gabe begins to lose it  
> aka Plagg joins the guilt party  
> aka best frenemies


	4. Small Heart Made of Steel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Forget- Marina and the Diamonds

It was a while after Queen Bee had left that Ladybug found herself sitting on a rooftop not far from the bakery.

It was after a few moments of introspection that she saw the akuma. The little butterfly was nearly invisible in the dark of night, flying circles around her head. It fluttered at eye level, hovering in front of her face for a few seconds before doing another lap around her. She knew something was wrong. 

She reached up a hand, and in a picturesque moment, the darkened insect landed on her finger.

Then she heard the voice.

“Ladybug,” Hawkmoth said, voice echoing slightly, “I need him back. I know you do too. Bring me the Miraculous, and I will bring back Adrien.”

The butterfly fluttered from her finger to her waist, bumping repeatedly against her yo-yo.

She purified it, shook the pained doubt from her mind, and made her way home.

Days later, instead of going on patrol, she made her way to Master Fu’s home.

-

As Adrien Agreste’s self-declared best friends, Chloe Bourgeois and Nino Lahiffe knew each other better than they cared to admit.

They came from opposing worlds and different viewpoints, but there was one thing they agreed on: Adrien was a priority.

So, what seemed like a lifetime after their common bond was gone, Nino was more than a little surprised when Chloe’s ringtone began playing from his phone.

_ “I’m a blonde, bimbo girl, in a fantasy world. Dress me up, make it-” _

“Hello? Chloe?”

“Who else would it be, Nino? Or did you finally change my stupid ringtone?”

Nino sighed. “What do you want?”

“I want revenge. For Adrien.”

A pause.

“What are you saying?”

“I’m saying,” she took a deep breath, “We’re taking Gabriel down.”

-

Adrien Agreste was dead. 

The news had started as headlines in Paris, then smaller newspaper articles throughout Europe.

Today, on what would have been his 17th birthday, it was a two-inch square in the corner of a tabloid cover in Hong Kong: ‘ **Circumstances Behind Agreste Death Still a Mystery** .’

Beside the text was a picture of the deceased, an unused shot from his last photoshoot. Blond hair glimmering in the sunlight, the young man wore a purple shirt and a vaguely forced smile.

An ebony-haired teenager glanced at the magazine as he paid for his coffee. His eyes narrowed, and he pulled the tabloid from its’ rack, laying down the extra money to pay for it. 

It was thrown directly into the trash as he left the airport coffeeshop.

He checked his ticket: Air France, nonstop to Paris, 11:55 PM, Gate 4.

He took a swig from his latté and made his way toward the gate to board.

‘Adrien Agreste is dead,’ he thought to himself, green eyes glittering as he smirked.

Thomas Black had business to take care of.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oops, my hand slipped


	5. It's A Sin To Be Sober Too Long

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Blackberry Wine - Gordon Lightfoot  
> Alaternatively: Blackberry Wine - Andrea Schroeder

Fu Wang was a smart man. He’d seen a lot in his life, and as such was never easily surprised.

So, really, he wasn’t completely shocked when he found Marinette Dupain-Cheng in his home, opening the Miraculous jewelry box. 

“Marinette.” The girl in question jumped, turning to him with a face that burned with shame.

“Fu! I was just-”

“I know, Marinette.” He crossed the room, opening the box and pulling out the ring. As soon as he did, Plagg appeared from seemingly nowhere.

“Fu, I’ve told you- Marinette? Why are you here, kid?” His ears drooped, face falling. “Time for a new Chat Noir?”

Fu smiled softly. “No, Plagg, Marinette was here to bring Adrien back. Am I right?”

Marinette’s face became darker, as red as the earrings that she appeared not to be wearing.

“Marinette. Your Miraculous.” It wasn’t a question.

The girl’s eyes widened, but she dutifully retrieved the jewels from her pocket. Tikki flew into view.

“I had no idea until it was too late to stop her or I would have-”

“Tikki,” Fu interrupted, hand clutching the ring as he reached for the earrings, “The only mistake Marinette made-” He held the Miraculouses tightly, ignoring the gasps that came from Tikki and Plagg.

“-Was thinking I would let her sacrifice herself.”

He closed his eyes, whispering something unintelligible, and the Miraculouses glowed with golden light, and then-

Nothing.

He opened his eyes with a gasp, dropping the jewelry to the ground.

“Adrien Agreste lives.”

-

When Ladybug appeared on Chloe’s balcony, eyes wide and hands shaking, Chloe knew what to do.

She led the heroine to her bed, keeping her steady. 

“Sit tight, Marinette, and for God’s sake buzz off or whatever it is you say.”

Ladybug sat confused for a second before she understood. 

“Tikki, spots off.”

It was true that Chloe had been kinder to Marinette at school recently, to her relief and Alya’s confusion, and she was the only person who knew the truth about what had happened, but Marinette was still unsure why she had gone to her first.

When Chloe returned with three bottles of wine and a pair of crystal goblets, however, she couldn’t say she wasn’t grateful.

“It’s blackberry Manischewitz,” Chloe wrinkled her nose a little, “It’s cheap, and American, and has a low-ass alcohol content, but it’s sweet and the hotel won’t notice it missing.”

At Marinette’s silence, she poured them each a glass, continuing, “We don’t even usually stock it, but last month that Salata writer came to Paris for part of her book tour, and it’s all she would drink. Can’t imagine why.”

She handed Marinette one of her father’s goblets full of the burgundy liquid.

“Drink. Then talk.”

Which is how, twenty minutes later, wine warm in her stomach and blood hot in her veins, Chloe found herself doing the breathing exercises she had so often visited with Adrien.

“...seven...eight… You were going to do  _ what? _ ”

“Chloe,” Marinette said, eyes shining and cheeks red (Chloe could tell she wasn’t used to drinking), “I think you’re missing the point. Adrien is-”

“Yes, yes, you think Adrien is alive, okay. I’m more concerned that you were going to  _ fucking kill yourself  _ to bring him back. Like, what the fuck, Mari, you’re Ladybug, Paris needs you,” She took another deep breath, “Marinette, I could handle knowing that Adrien died in a tragic accident fighting Hawkmoth. I couldn’t handle knowing you ended your existence to bring him back. What if he had turned out as a zombie or something, and you’d be gone, and who would save the day?”

“But Chloe, Adrien didn’t die!”  
“Okay, okay, I’ll be happy about that for a while, but don’t you dare think I won’t come back to this. I’m a master at interventions when friends are idealizing suicide.”

“...Did you just call me your friend?”

Chloe scoffed, topped off Marinette’s glass, and refilled her own.

“You’re Ladybug,” She said, taking a sip and blaming her blush on the wine, “Don’t act so surprised.”

-

“ _ All I need in this life of sin is me and my boyfriend. Ride with me to the very end, just me and my boyfrie-” _

“Yes, Nino?”

“Alya, I have to tell you something.”

“You’re demisexual.”

“I mean yeah but-”

“Dude it’s no big deal, I love you no matter what, and it wouldn’t bother me if we never had sex-”  
“Alya-”  
“-I have a vibrator, it’s not the end of the world-”

“Alya!”

“What?”

“I was just talking to Chloe-”

“Ew.”

“ _ Alya!  _ She thinks Adrien was Chat Noir.”

“What?”

“And his dad killed him.”

“ _ What? _ ”

“And Marinette is Ladybug.”

“Oh, you’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THIS CHAPTER BROUGHT TO YOU BY COMIC SANS AND BLACKBERRY MANISCHEWITZ


	6. With Nobody In Your Bed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "I know you think that I’m someone you can trust/But I’m scared I’ll get scared and I swear I’ll try to nail you back up..."  
> Jesus Christ- Brand New

Marinette woke up the next morning on the chaise lounge in Chloe’s room with a headache, twelve missed calls, and one angry voicemail.

“Marinette, pick up the phone. I’m freaking out! Nino started talking to Chloe, and now he’s got it in his head that Adrien’s dad is a supervillain and you’re Ladybug and  _ I can’t think of a single piece of evidence that he’s wrong.” _

Marinette froze, eyes widening as she lowered her phone.

“Chloe,” she called, “I think we need to talk.”

-

Which is how, thirty minutes later, four teenagers stood in Chloe’s room.

“ _ You lied to me? _ For like four years now, you’ve been  _ Ladybug _ ?” Alya was practically shrieking.

Chloe sighed, pinched the bridge of her nose. “Alya, please, Marinette and I have headaches.”

“ _ And that’s another thing _ , why the hell is everyone hanging out with Chloe?”

“Marinette and I were together because I was the first person she needed to tell-”  
“ _Chloe,”_ Marinette cut her off.

“Tell what, Mari? What was so important you couldn’t tell me?”

Marinette paused, took a breath. 

“Adrien is still alive.”

“ _ What _ ?” Nino gasped, eyes wide.

“Oh, sure, leave out the part where you almost killed yourself.”  
“ _What?”_ Alya looked gobsmacked.

Marinette sighed. “Chloe, you’re really not helping.”

“Hello? Guys? Adrien? Alive?” Nino was not panicking. Definitely not. His dead best friend was only  _ not actually dead.  _ Totally normal day. All things considered, Nino thought he was taking it rather well.

And then the air left the room.

The girls watched him curl into himself as he began breathing in short gasps.

Marinette and Alya froze, eyes wide, while Chloe rushed to his side.

“What’s happening?”  
“He’s having a panic attack, Alya,” Chloe’s voice was strangely soft as she sat down next to Nino, “That’s all this is, Nino, is a panic attack, okay? It’ll pass soon.”

Nino shook, clearly trying to settle his breathing without much success.

“Okay, Nino, here’s what we’re going to do. Breathe in for four, and then hold it for one, and then breathe out four. It’s okay if you can’t do the full count right away, we’ll get there eventually.”

-

_ Falling. He was falling and Ladybug hadn’t caught him yet.  _

_ He couldn’t see her at the edge of the building, but she would be there soon. She would- _

_ Cold. So cold. He gasped, tasted the water of the Siene. _

_ He was sinking quickly, watching the sunlight filter through the water. Why couldn’t he move? His lungs burned from lack of air, darkness burned across his vision, where was Ladybug? _

_ As blackness consumed everything, he realized with all-consuming dread that  _ **_Ladybug wasn’t coming for him._ **

_ - _

He woke with a strangled yelp that made the woman in the seat beside him start. With an apologetic smile in her direction, he turned toward the window.

It was okay. He was okay. He was alive.

He had survived, awoken to the concerned faces of Doctor Rogers and his wife, been nursed back to health on their boat. Juanita had helped him dye his hair, they had escorted him to the bank and then the airport, never once questioned him on his decisions.

(Juanita had been a domestic violence counselor at one point, he knew, maybe she had recognized the signs of someone running from their past.)

Using money he had stashed away for the past few years, he had made his way through China, following familiar-sounding legends and fairytales of heroes with miraculous powers.

And now? Emboldened with knowledge and a touch of homesickness, he was going back to Paris. He would defeat Gabriel Agreste and return the butterfly miraculous to Fu.

With or without Ladybug.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> whoop whoop Sadrien Angstreste


	7. Underside is Brighter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let's go in the garden/You'll find something waiting/Right there where you left it/Lying upside-down  
> Everything Stays- Adventure Time

The first thing Thomas Black did after landing in Paris was buy the weakest pair of reading glasses he could find. 

The second was find a Pro-Duo and hair dye. He knew that dying his hair in a hotel shower was not the best idea he’d ever had, but his roots were starting to show, and keeping his hair black was his best attempt at a disguise.

Picking up a box of black dye, he let his eyes wander to the semi-permanent colors, hand drifting upwards to his blond streak. 

_ When Juanita had helped him dye his hair, he had absentmindedly mentioned Nathalie and her gradient of red dye. _

_ “Well,” Juanita had laughed, “I don’t know how to do anything that cool, but,” she curled a lock of his hair around her finger and tied it off with one of her granddaughter’s elastic hair bands, “we can leave this one blond.” _

His eyes stopped on a tube of green dye, the little fake hair sample beside it displaying a perfect Chat Noir green.

Why not? He looked down at his outfit, cargo pants and a black t-shirt for a band he’d never heard of, and adjusted his new, narrow glasses. It wasn’t as if green hair would clash so badly with the aesthetic he was currently broadcasting.

On a whim, he grabbed the bottle and went to the checkout line, watching out the window as the Parisian crowds hurried past.

He was at the front of the line before he knew it, and soon out of the building.

-

Nino was fine. 

Really.

More than fine, really, the best a person could be while walking through Paris, searching for clues on the location of their not-dead best friend.

_ Dios mío, ayúdame. _

He squeezed Alya’s hand tightly in his own, turned his eyes to the storefronts, took a deep breath-

_ Waitwasthat- _

“Adrien?” He gasped, turning to look back at the Pro-Duo he had passed.

But Adrien- if he had ever been there- was gone. 

Nino sighed, idly watching as an ebony-haired stranger in a My Chemical Romance shirt walked in the other direction.

Alya eyed him with concern.

“Just a trick of the light,” he sighed.

-

Really, he should have gone to Fu first and gotten Plagg back. It would have made sneaking in through Nino’s bedroom window a lot easier. 

After he reached the top of Mama Lahiffe’s rose trellis, he realized the window was open. 

After pulling himself through the window and landing in a heap next to the dresser, he realized Nino wasn’t there.

Not a big surprise, he rationalized as he sat on the edge of the bed. Nino could be at a gig, his DJ skills had been in high demand for the past few years. There was no reason to be concerned over an open window.

So he waited. And waited. And then?

He fell asleep.

-

How they got here, Marinette wasn’t sure.

They’d been patrolling, the four of them, as they had every night since their impromptu meeting in Chloe’s room, and, toward the end, Nino had offered them snacks at his house.

So they made their way to Nino’s house, everyone chuckling at his jokes as they climbed through his window. And then, the laughter abruptly stopped.

“Hey, um, guys? Am I dreaming again, or is Punk Rock Adrien Agreste in my bed?”

Alya snorted, “I’m no DJ, but I think the Queers are pop punk.”

“Again,” Chloe said, slowly. “Again?”

“Yes, Chlo, everyone in this room is slightly attracted to Adrien Perfection Agreste, catch up.”

“Should we wake him?”  
“No,” Marinette broke her silence. “No, let him sleep.” She transformed back to her civilian self, the others following.

Which was probably a bad idea, she realized, as the flashing lights and magical noises stirred Adrien awake.

As he sat up and looked around in confusion, Marinette felt tears threatening to well up. She sat down in Nino’s desk chair just as Adrien gave a shaky grin.

“Hey, guys.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pro-Duo is the French Sally Beauty btw
> 
> Also, I have so many headcanons for this fic (seminary school dropout Gabriel Agreste, for example) so if you want to know anything about anyone in the ML universe just ask.
> 
> (Seriously, please ask, I have so much random information in my head.)


	8. The Judge Is On Vinyl

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't prepare for death any more than I already have  
> King's Crossing - Elliot Smith

Chloe broke the silence first.

“My god, Adrien,” she gasped, eyes wide, “don’t you know green hair is a sin?”

“He just came back from the dead, Chloe.”

“Besides,” Nino chuckled, “He’s worn through three pairs of bright orange converse since we met, I can confirm that he doesn’t fear God.”

The banter continued, leaving a silent Marinette and very confused Adrien in its’ wake.

“...Why do none of you seem surprised?”

There was a thick, awkward silence, soon broken by Alya.

“Because M-”

“Ladybug told us,” Chloe interrupted, glaring at Alya. “She also told us that you were Chat Noir.” She turned her glare to Adrien.

“Yeah,” Nino piped up, seeming a little miffed, “Not how I wanted to find out my superhero crush is my best friend!”

Adrien smiled despite himself. Bringing in the other Miraculous holders was smart, even if Marinette had only worn the Rat Miraculous once. They were talented people, and all knew each other well. Even with Chloe’s usual temper, he did not doubt that they all worked together well. But-

“How’d she know I was alive? And where even is she then? She couldn’t let you patrol alone, if there were an akuma she’d have to be there to purify it.”

Silence again, all eyes downcast. Nino shifted awkwardly on his heels.

Finally, Chloe exploded.

“Well one of us has to tell him, and it’s-”  
“Me,” Marinette began, then took a deep breath.

A pit formed in Adrien’s stomach.

“What? What do you have to tell me? What’s going on?”

Chloe groan in frustration, but said nothing.

Marinette sighed. 

“Adrien, sit down a minute.”

“No,” He was suddenly terrified. “Marinette, what’s going on? Where’s Ladybug?”

“Just tell him, Mari.”

It was Marinette’s turn to groan.

Adrien took a cleansing breath, “Why do I need to sit down, Marinette?”

She looked at him, the most hopeless expression he’d ever seen in her eyes. 

“Adrien, I-”  
The terror returned. 

“Marinette, what did you do?”  
She closed her eyes, turned away.

“I didn’t save you.”

Adrien shook his head, “Marinette, you weren’t th-”

He choked on the last word, eyes widening as he had his realization.

Marinette Dupain-Cheng was Ladybug. 

He had sat in front of Ladybug in school for  _ four years,  _ and he had  _ never fucking realized. _

And now Marinette- who was Ladybug- was sitting in front of him. And Ladybug- who was Marinette- was  _ crying _ .

It was a silent action, but the trembling of her body and the downward tilt of her head told him everything he needed to know.

He’d spent a lot of time ruminating on what had happened from his point of view, on trusting Ladybug to catch him, on how betrayed he felt when she hadn’t saved him.

For a short time, he’d been angry. But now, watching his partner and friend crying in front of him, he thought about her.

“You shouldn’t have had to save me,’ He sat beside her, laid an gentle hand on her back. “I never should have let any of that happen, I just- Hawkmoth- my dad- and I just lost it.”

“He took your ring. I was trying to get it back and then you were yelling and you just-” Her breathing turned to shaky little gasps. “You died. I tried to bring you back, I couldn’t even do that-”

“You what?”

“Oh, yeah,” Chloe cut in, “See, because your dumb ass didn’t tell us you were alive, her dumb ass almost killed herself trying to bring you back to life, doing whatever wish shit your dad’s all psycho about.”

“Oh. Oh, Marinette,” he wrapped his arms around her, held her tight as sobs shook her body. “It’s okay.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Half of this chapter is 'what do you mean this isn't a crackfic?'  
> The other half is 'What do you mean Chloe's not the smartest person in the room?'  
> The third half is 'What do you mean love square?'  
> (We'll get there eventually)

**Author's Note:**

> For Jenna. More to come.


End file.
